South Africa Grand Safari

January 26th, 2012

 

Anyone thinking of taking a flight to South Africa will automatically think about the opportunity to go on safari. It is the seminal African experience, filled with images of wandering through the bush, pith helmet in hand, supported by vehicles loaded with baggage and equipment.

 

Safari tours

Modern safari tourists tend to take a video camera rather than a gun these days but the thrill of tracking and watching animals is no less exciting. One of the greatest safari experiences to be had in South Africa is at the massive 19,485 sq km of the Kruger National Park. Covering a vast area of diverse habitats and containing an impressive selection of animals, flora and fauna this is the perfect destination for a bush adventure.

 

Kruger National Park

The park experience is supported by an able staff of professional game wardens who are more than happy to give advice, take tours and offer assistance. The accommodations vary from remote, tranquil ranch cabins to the resort like wilderness camps. Skukusa is the parks main camp and along with its kraals and huts there are shops, a restaurant, two swimming pools, a bank and police station, it is also home to one of the worlds most exotic bush golf courses.

 

Guides arrange memorable sunrise trips to the waterholes to watch the elephants drink, bush stake outs to observe the lion prides in action and gentle road trips trying to spot some of the illusive big five, lion, rhino, elephant, water buffalo and leopards.

 

Wild life landscape

The park is home to over 27,000 buffalo, 350 rare black rhino, over 17,000 zebra, with extensive herds of impala, roebuck, kudu and bushbuck. It supports in excess of 16,000 elephants, and up to 12,000 white rhino, while over 8,000 hippos wallow in the pools daily and 300 rare eland deer can be found drinking at the edge of the waterholes.

 

Since the foundations for the park were laid out in 1898 it has grown into the largest undisturbed natural resource in Africa. In 2002 it was incorporated with parklands in Zimbabwe and Mozambique to create the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. The landscape varies from the towering Lebombo Mountains in the east to the luscious plains in the west. The park is also traversed by the raging torrents of the Limpopo and Crocodile rivers and a number of other smaller but equally fierce rivers.

 

A Kruger National Park safari is a truly unique experience and travellers can follow some of the time worn animal trails across the park or simply drive around the well-maintained tarmac roads. Visitors can sit in the car, entombed by baboons, park close to herds of wildebeest as they gently graze or spot the bobbing tails of the Springbok as they dodge and dart through the veldt. Night times in the camps are filled with copious helpings of food followed by a restful sleep surrounded by the sounds of nature in full flight.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Travel, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Buildings insurance – What Exactly Are You Covered For?

January 25th, 2012

Everyone knows that home insurance is a good idea – well, we’re told it is and plenty of people see the sense in having cover that pays out should their home and possessions be destroyed in a fire, for example. However far less people realise that home insurance comprises of two elements – buildings and contents. What’s the difference?

Confused.com’s way of explaining it is to imagine you’re a giant; you pick up a house, pull the roof off, and tip the house upside down. Anything that falls out is covered by contents insurance – typically, electronics, pictures, kitchenware, sofas, etc. Everything else – walls, roof, carpets, bath, and so on, is covered by buildings insurance.

So if, for example, you were to discover you had rising damp in your home and it was going to cost several thousand pounds to repair, you could claim against your buildings insurance policy. ‘Could’ being the important word here. If the insurance company were to discover that the damp had been there for several years and you had just never bothered to do anything about it until now, there is a very good chance they would not pay up. The same could happen if part of your roof was blown away in a storm and the insurance company found out that several tiles has been missing or damaged beforehand.

This is because part of the terms and conditions in many buildings insurance policies is you must keep the building in good repair. This means if your roof becomes damaged through age or wear and tear it should be repaired as soon as possible. The same if you discover damp, or anything else wrong. If you were paying to fix something wouldn’t you prefer to spend £200 on a small job rather than waiting for it to become a serious problem and spending £2000? It’s the same for an insurance company, only they make it part of a legal agreement.

The other main thing buildings insurance covers is the rebuild cost of your home – if your home was completely demolished and had to be rebuilt from scratch, what would it cost? This is NOT the same as how much you bought it for, it tends to be a lot less, and many people scratch their heads over this question on the insurance forms.

If you had a survey done of your home when you first bought it there should be a rebuild cost listed there. If your survey was done a few years ago you may need to factor in inflation for the rebuild cost. Your insurer may be able to help. Otherwise you could try a rebuild cost calculator, such as the one provided by the Building Cost Information Service and Association of British Insurers.

It is always worth checking the terms and conditions of an insurance policy carefully to see what is, and what isn’t, covered, especially if there are special conditions you think should be covered. For example, if you live by a river you may want to ensure you have cover for flood damage. An insurance company may be happy to quote you for flood cover but because of the increased risk you can be sure that they will charge you a higher premium, and they may even impose a limit on the pay-out and extra conditions upon you as part of the agreement (such as having sandbags available at all times and not covering damage to carpets). If in doubt, speak to someone from the insurance company.

This article was written by Rob Powell from Confused.com, the buildings insurance comparison website.

Posted in Finance, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Day Trips around Dublin

November 23rd, 2011

Guest Post by Olivia D. Andersson

Here are a few of the nearby attractions that you can explore on a day trip from Dublin, Ireland.

Dublin, the capital city of Ireland, is well known as a desirable tourist destination for its nightlife, history, art and culture. However, the city is also a great base for exploring some of the other smaller cities in Ireland. Here are some fascinating destinations in the nearby area which can be easily enjoyed on a day trip from Dublin.

Howth

This small town to the north of Dublin is a lovely place to take a walk. It is located on a peninsula around Dublin’s bay and it features some stunning natural cliffs which overlook the sea. If you would like to take a hike along the cliffs, there is a designated walking trail which begins to the east of the town and follows the cliffs all around to the southern part of the peninsula. The entire walk takes around 3-4 hours, but if you want to make it a shorter journey you can take the bus 31B to Howth’s Summit and do half of the trail starting from the lighthouse. Make sure that you do the hike on a clear day, as when it is cloudy you will not be able to see the view of Dublin city against the mountains in the background.

County Carlow

Country Carlow would be the perfect day trip from Dublin for someone interested in history and architecture. This area in southeast Ireland has been settled for over 8,000 years, and it still has plenty of evidence of its earliest inhabitants. Items of historical importance are well-kept in museums all across the county.

The city of Carlow has many excellent examples of architecture from the 1700s and the 1800s, many of which are open for the public to visit. The Carlow Courthouse dates back to 1830, and has a very unique Greek revivalist design with eight columns. Brownsehill Dolmen is another interesting landmark as it is a portal tomb which dates back to 3,000 BC with a capstone which weighs over 100 tons. The gothic Carlow Cathedral is also a very impressive building.

Kilkenny

This thriving city is located only 75 southwest of Dublin, and it is the capital of the county of the same name. Although small, Kilkenny is a popular weekend getaway destination for many Irish citizens and it has a very exciting night life scene and a rich cultural heritage.

Kilkenny is often called “Ireland’s Most Beautiful Historic City” and there are many stunning examples of historical architecture located within its City Centre. While you are here, you can also check out one of the numerous live concerts, theatre performances, festivals, and other entertainment which frequently occurs in Kilkenny. The Kilkenny Arts Festival runs every year in August and floods the streets with artists and music, and the Cat Laughs Comedy Festival occurs during the first weekend in June and brings many famous comedians to the city.

These are just a few of the great destinations that you can visit on a fun and easy day trip from Dublin. Etihad Airways are among the carriers that operate regular scheduled flights to Ireland, and  their flights  to Dublin page contains further useful information about the city.

Posted in Guest | No Comments »

« Older Entries